If teamwork has a place in the beef industry a multi vendor seedstock sale is arguably one of the best situations for it to prosper.
The Wandoan Santa Gertrudis sale has developed over the years into one vendors now agree offers a highly consistent line of Santa Gertrudis sires through the selling ring.
Tuesday’s annual sale resulted in a $210,500 gross for an average of $5847 and a 78 per cent clearance.
Nigel and Toni Sharpe of the Bunda Santa Gertrudis stud took home top price honours with the sale of Bunda Nugget N72 for $14,000.
The 25-month-old 918kg sire boasted P8 and rib fat depths of 14mm and 9mm respectively, with an eye muscle area of 134mm.
More than just one of the mob, Nugget was a family favourite.
Nigel and Toni’s young son Murdoch proudly recounted tales of leading an 18-month-old Nugget at the Inglewood show, as well as being the bull’s self-appointed chief fitter at Beef Australia 2018.
“He lies down and lets us climb around him and he’s just a really friendly bull- he's our mate,” Murdoch said.
Aside from possessing a highly desirable gentle nature, Nigel Sharpe said Nugget was a thick bodied sire with good soft muscling and the eye appeal required from a top priced bull.
“He is definitely a true to type Santa bull and we’re thrilled to be rewarded for producing the desired article,” he said.
“We’ve been part of the Wandoan Santa sale for the last four years and this is our first time topping the sale, so we're thrilled.
“When we joined the multi vendor sale here we were looking for a place to sell our article and Wandoan is a great location to get bulls into.
“While it’s dry here (at Wandoan) as it is everywhere, we’ve found that if you’ve got the right article breeders will still buy them and it’s very rewarding to feel like we’ve got the recipe right with Nugget.”
Purchaser Robert Adams on behalf of Dangarfield Santa Gertrudis said Bunda Nugget N72 was destined to go straight into his family’s stud herd.
“He is a bull with a lovely clean skin and good muscle, and he's a polled calf to boot,” Mr Adams said.
“I looked at him before the sale with a classifier and neither of us could find fault in him, so the plan is for him to breed us some future stars down the track.”
The second top price award was shared between two sires, each reaching $10,000 in the ring.
Lot 13, Bunda Naught N67, was purchased by T and S Pukallus, Warrabinda, Roma, and was very similar in type to the top priced bull.
His large frame and deep body with P8 and rib fat scans of 16mm and 9mm attracted plenty of buyer attention in a testament to the Bunda stud’s quality draft of bulls for the market.
Lot 21, Jamally Noble N72, also sold for $10,000 to Greg and Gayle Menzies, Jaletto Pty Ltd, Taroom.
The 912kg bull boasted impressive P8 and rib fat scans of 16mm and 11mm respectively, and with a half brother winning the reserve junior champion bull title at Beef Australia 2018 there was evidence of quality breeding in the bull’s history.
Western buyers were also in operation on sale day with Sagu Pty Ltd, St George, and Goorarooman Pty Ltd, Thallon, each picking up four bulls to compliment their breeding plans.
Wandoan Santa sale president, Jamie Becker of Jamally Santa Gertrudis, Alkoomie, Taroom, said he felt this year’s sale presented the most even, consistent line of bulls so far- a task made more difficult with four different vendors in the mix.
“We’re really striving to produce consistent Santa sires year after year and the fact that we now have four studs committed to working together for the long haul to get it right was evident in the animals on offer today,” Mr Becker said.
“These four studs- Valleyview, Wightfields, Bunda and Jamally- only sell here at the Wandoan Santa sale.
“Making this sale our focus speaks volumes for consistency, which is something we’re aiming to build on as time goes on.”
